Trapped heating system.



E. E. GOLD. TRAPPED HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 21,1909,

Patented Nov. 7, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

' tical trap UNITED STA TES (PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD 1-]. GOLD, on. NEW YORK, a. Y.

TRAPPED HEATING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent;

original'application filed November 17, 1908, Serial No.- 463,169. Divided and this application filed I January 21, 1909.

Serial No. 473,576.

To all whom it may concern: 2

Be it known that I, ,EDWARD E. GOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating toTrapped Heating Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention aims to provide an improvement in heating systems especially applicable to the heating of railway cars by steam or indirectly by hot water which is heated by steam.

A feature of advantage is the provision of a trap having all the advantages of the vernow commonly 1n use 1n pressure systems, and whioh'at the same time is cheaper, simpler, and less liable to be thrown out of order by' clogging with ice or for any other reason.

trap, so as to give a quicker and nicer regu lation.

. cross-section on 1, the usual l tive boiler and varying from 40 to 80 p unds is provided'with suitable-branches B. leading I to the radiating systems of theseparate sides sented at C and the discharge pipe at I).

This application is a division of my previous application No. 463,109filed November 17,1908, and is based particularly on im-' provements applied or applicable to the discharge valve andadjacent parts. '-Var-ious other features of'advantage are referred to in detail hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate em bodiinents of the invention.

Figure I is a vertical sectional view. of a discharge trap with the adjacent parts of the heating system in elevation. Fig. 2 is a the line 2-2. Fig. 3 is an elevation of another style of trap. Fig. 4 is .a horizontal section of the valve and 'adjacent parts of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical sec-" tion of the-discharge end of another. style of system; I

' Referring now to the embodiments-of the invention illustrated, and especially to Fig. train-pipe A carryin'g'a' pressure of steam reduced from that in the. locomogenerally, extends the length of theica I and of the car. 'The radiating pipes are repre- The trap through which the water of con densation is allowed to escape is 'llldltlitted as a whole by the letter includes a It is also better ventilated and more sensitive than previous styles of valve F which, when the system is being operated as a pressure system, normally closes the discharge end of-the pipe so as to prevent escape of steam and fall of pressure; and which opens at intervals when the water of condensation hasaccumulated in the discharge end of the pipe, so as to per a m1 t the escape of such water.

this valve is arranged within the car and.

Ordinarily Patented Nov. 7, 1911.

has a stem extending down through the.

double floor G of the car to an expansible floor and which contains a thermostatic llquid such'as alcohol, ether, or the like.

.6 'vessel situated somewhat below the lower Then when the valve is opened thevvater of condensation escapes and is followed by steam which is directed upon the expansible vessel and vaporizes the liquid therein and causes the vessel to expand and moveythe' .valve stem in a' direction to close thevalve and prevent the further-escape of steam. When the valve has been-closed for a time expansible' vessel containing the thermostatic liquid is exposed efl'ects the condensation of the thermostatic liquid "and the contraction of the expa'nsible' vesselyand opens the valve. The. exposure of the expansible vessel outside of the car introduces compli'- cations in order to protect it from injury and in order to prevent theprotecting struc- .ture from causing it to become clogged with a the temperature of the outer air to whichth'e I too. Its positionalso is one in which it is not readily accessible. According to this invention these and other disadvantages are eliminated by transferringthe eX-pansible vessel which operates the trap valve to apointwwithin'the ca'rwhereit is easily pro-Q tected, entirely outsideof the rangeofthe' escaping water of condensation so that'there .is' no danger'of freezing, and where" it,isperfectly accessible. At'thje same time the advantage is maintained ofutilizing the escap-.

ing steam or hot: water to e'Xpandlthe vessel,

and of nsing'th'e outside atmosphere to-con-" tract it. This is accomplished'by providingv a vessel outside the 9M and-exposed to the escaping steam and-to, the outer atmosphere andcontaining thetexpansible fluid, and

providing-communication between the exansiblefluid outside the car and the expan S g; 'v'ess'el within the .car.-

' ari'ous styles of .vessel.may ,.beused fordv carrying the expansible. fluid and exposing T with greater extensively to the cooling action of the air it toithe steam.

'of a cylindrical Y tubing,- the upper end of which is continued in the tion shown in Fig. 1 is employed, consisting coil H-of copper or brass the lower end of which is sealed'and v pipe which conveys the pressure 'to the valve-operating expansible vessel. The coil maybe supported in any suitable way to provide access of the escaping steam to it. For example, itmay be supported between cup-shaped washers Kheld in position by nuts L screwed upon the, opposite ends-of a' core- M forming a continuation of the vertical dischargepipe N, said. core being provided'with openings'O for giving access of steamto'thecylindrical 'coil. The nuts L :"may'be adjusted so as to hold the convoluftions of the coil in contact with each other .and prevent the passage of'steam or of air between them, or these nuts may set the coil or smaller passages between the 'convolutions. Thecold air is blowing on the coil at all times when the train 'isrunhing, and thexeifect of separating the'convolutions'would be to expose the coil more and to render the-system more sensitive to the 'coldnessof the outer air. Theuse of a "coil of pipe' as the vessel for carrying the ther'-' mostatic fluid and exposing it to the heat and 1 cold has great advantages,especiallyiin that 1t -.eXpan'ds and contracts freely and can be -inade free from joints except the'single joint which connects' it with the expansible vessel adjacent to'the valve, inthat 'it exposesa ("large surface to the steam at one-side and. to the air at the' other side, and in that 1t can -be readilyjand cheaply applied to traps ifmetically.

=I has provide for the proper ventilation or exposureto theatmosphere of the vessel carrying the thermostatic liquid.v -In practically )I heatings'ystems! already in use. To permit the escape of'air. from the coil H: while ficielitly tight. topermit the coil to be soldered so; as to closethe opening her always been a diificult matter .to

1:au'a1etrapsQeInployed in car heating this "been made v f. the atmospli re as PQSSIblG. W 1th the presvess'el has.

'een-inclosed, .and efforts have Secure as full an exposure to ent system and especially with the coiled 1 pipe serving as the vessel for carrying the 'th'ermostatic "liquid, there is a perfect ex "posure'to the atmosphere. This is of im- "portance in determimng the sensltlveness of "thesystema For. theoretical perfection the system should operate so sensitively as to maintain-as nearly as possible the same temperature at the discharge end of the radiator as at its admission end, thus'getting' the Preferably the construczero Fahrenheit) than can be secured the same condltlons with the best traps of spider from the stufling,

kind shown in Fig.- 1, I have succeeded in securing, without appreciable waste of steam and working at atmospheric pressure, a temperature at the discharge end of the radiator approximately 12 per cent. grcatcr (above under the type in which the thermostat is inclosed. As stated above, however, the vessel carrying the thermostatic fluid is capable of being varied in many ways. In the apparatus of Figs. 3 and 5 the expansible fluid (alcohol, ether, formed by a portion of the discharge pipe N of the valve, and by a jacket H surrounding the same and brazed thereon. The jacket is provided with corrugations to allow 'a slight differential expansion between the jacket and the pipe without injury to the joints of the vessel, but as far as its effect upon theoperation of the system is concerned it might be considered a substantially inexpansible vessel. The thermostatic fluid is in communication with the expansible vessel controlling the valve F, by means of a tube J.

- The valve F is normally pressed open by a spring P. .Its stem Q passes through a stufling box R to the inner corrugated movablefa'ce of the expansible vessel S, the latter being held between a ring supported by a box or valve caslng and an outer ring which looks by a bayonet joint or similar device over the inner ring. The construction is described more in detail and claimed in my original application above referred to.

- It will be seen that the water of condensation passing through the trap valve F and down the discharge pipe N thereof finds a perfectly free'outlet. As soon as the water of condensation has all passed out and the steam comes, it heats the thermostatic liquid and vaporizes it, creating a fluid pressure which is transmitted to the expansible vessel S and closes the valve. When the flow of steam has been stopped long enough, the outside temperature causes the condensation of the thermostatic liquid and the collapsing or the like) is'carried in a vessel of the vessel S and the opening of the valve to. release the water of condensation which has accumulated in the meantime.

It is-desirable to trap. The blow-ofiivalve'in Fig. 11 is-indicate'd at W and is a simple hand valve surrounded by a screen X, and raised and low-' 'ered by means of a spindle Y. The discharge pipe Z for the blow-off is preferably arranged within or closely adjacent to the discharge of the trap, so that by opening the blow-off and allowing live steam to pass provide a blow-off valve, and this is conveniently combine'dwith the The mechanisms .des cribedmay 'be arranged at the discharge end of various types of heating systems; In Fig.1 the system is shown as provided with the usual hand admisslonvalvea and with the pressure reducmg admlsslon' valve 11 whereby the variable high pressurein the train-pipe-may' be reduoed to aconstant comparatively low pressureLm-the radiating pipes. i

i F gs. Sand 4 show an arrangement of the discharge valve .infasomewhat different location from that shown in Fig. 1. [Means "are also shown in Fig. .4 tor holding-the valve open byhand so that it may serveiat once as a trap-valve and as a blow-oil'- valve- The vertical portion N of'the. discharge pipe in this caseis entirely'clear, so that there is .less danger of clogging by freezing, and the elimination of a separate blow-off valve simplifies the construction. The valve F in this case is arranged to move horizontally, its stem Q being connected with the expansible vessel S which is connected by the communieating pipe J with the acket H below the floor of the car as previously described. The

steam flowing'in the direction of the arrow tends to open the valve when there is no pressure in the expansible vessel. When such pressure arises. the valve closes. In order to use the valve as a blow-ofl, a stem 0 is passed through a stufing box at the oppo-. site side of the valvecasing, and is arranged to screw in and out in line with the extended stem of the valve F, so that-by screwing in the stem e the valve F may be forced open and held so against the fluid pressure in the expansible vessel, thus blowing out the pipes.

Besides the styles of vessel for thermostatic fluid shown'in Figs. 1 and 3, various other styles may be employed. Examples of these are illustrated and described in-detail in my original application above identified.

In my originalapplication above referred to, and in previous applications for patents, I have described systems'working always at train-pipe pressure or at a determined pressure reduced from that of the train-pipe by a special reducing v'alve, and other systems working always at approximately atmospheric pressure; and also systems which are Y interchangeable from the pressure of the train-pipe or that of a reducing valve to atihospheric pressure at will. Where the syste is to work always at atmospheric presthe discharge end is normally open, it is usual to dispense with a discharge il ve. The valve of the present invention,

with or without the pressure regulating ad- 'mission valve 6 of Fig. -1, is appllcable either to systems working constantly at pressure or to the interchangeable system above described.

- It is not essential that the discharge valve be located within the. car. equally applicable to systems in which both the valve and the thermostatic liquid are 'carriedoutside of the car. Fig. 5 forexampie illustrates an application of this invent on to the'style of discharge pipe usual with indirect systems. These 1 are systems in which the circulation of steam is utilized to heata' body "of water which circulates through the pipes which are directly used jfor heating the air in the can The discharge pipe D projecting below the fioor of the car 1s provided with a discharge valve F similar to that of Fig. 1, and a pipe Nwith a jacket Hf carrying the volatile liquid which'is heated by'the escaping steam, and creates afluid pressure in the expansible ves-- sel S which actuates the valve stem Q to close the valve against 'the pressure of the spring P. Preferably the valve casingd is apertured at the-side opposite the valve F, and carries a. gravity valve or air valve e which carries on the outer end of its arm a ,weight f. This is an old type of valve whose function is to admit air into thepipe as soon as the pressure falls -to-approxin'iately atmospheric. While the pressure is maintained, the valve e is held against its seat, holding-up'the small weight 7". As soon as the pressure falls the Weight. f drops and The invention is tilts the valve so as to admit air into the pipes and prevent the existence of a vacuum, which is objectionable, holding up water in the pipes and sometimes causing freezing.

The locating of the expansible vessel above the trap insures the thermostatic liquids flowing back into the vesselH (or H) after it has been expanded and is subsequently recondensed by the cooling of the vessel; Preferably as shown in Fig. 3 the liquid is supplied only in sufiicient quantity to fill the vessel H leavingthe passages and expansible vessel filled with all or vapor; so that it is only the comparatively small quantity of liquid in the lower vessel which has to be heated to the vaporizing point, the air previously in the pipe J and the upper vessel serving only to transmit the pressure and having no material effect on the temperature of the liquid. I f

What I claim is 1. In a heating system the combination of a discharge valve, an expansible vessel controlling said valve, and a second vessel containing a thermostatic fluid, said second vessel being in communication with said valvecontrollmg vessel and being located beyond said valve 8;) that the thermostatic fluid therein will .be heated by the heating medium which has the valve-controllingvessel being within the compartment to beheated: and the second vessel being exposed to the temperature of the atmosphere outside of said compartment. 9

.125 passed. through the valve,

2. In a heating system the combination of a discharge valve, an expansible vessel controlling said valve, means exposed to the surrounding atmosphere and to the escapvessel being protected from said atmosphere.

3. In a heating system the combination of a discharge valve and thermostatic means for controlling said valve including a coil of pipe exposed 011 one side to the heat from the heating medium beyond said valve and upon the other side to the surrounding atmosphere and carrying a thermostatic fluid.

4. In a heating system the combination of a discharge valve and thermostatic means for controlling said valve including a cylindrical coil of pipe H carrying a thermostatic fluid and through the cylindrical center of which the heating medium passes.

5. In a heating system, the combination of a discharge valve, an expansible vessel within the apartment to be heated for controlling said valve, and means exposed to the discharge from the system and to the temperature outside of said apartment for generating fluid pressure, said pressure-generating means being in communication with said expansible vessel to introduce fluid pressure directly into said vessel to expand it.

6. In a car heating system the combination of a discharge valve, an expansible vessel within the car for controlling said valve, and a supply of volatile liquid carried outside the car and exposed to the temperature of the outside air and to that of the discharge from the system, and in communication with said expansible vessel.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD E. GOLD.

Witnesses:

Donmoo A. UsnvA, FRED WHITE. 

